Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (wheels, lug nuts, original-equipment tires, TPMS).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 1998 Ford Ranger owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
The spindle on the right front wheel of the vehicle split in half causing the wheel to separate from the vehicle. My son lost control and damaged the right front bumper and fender. But for the grace of god he could have been killed or seriously injured. He had just left the freeway.
While backing my 98 Ford Ranger 4.0 supercab with tow package (which has the beefier brakes) the aluminum bracket that holds the bar that the brake and clutch hinge on, broke away from the truck. This left me heading in reverse with no brake or clutch. I was in shock, imagine the steering wheel coming off in your hands while driving; that's how I felt. I didn't think to hit the emergency brake, but I was already halfway into the garage and had very little time to react properly before I crashed into the back wall (cinderblock) punching a hole in the wall which killed the engine. This happened at the fire station where I work! The police did a report. He saw and reported the brakes were broke although he didn't look very closely. Many of my superiors at the job saw that the brakes had broke away and were now dangling, useless. …
On July 10, 2003 my cousin's 1998 Ford rangers left rear tire peeled apart, causing the truck to flip and blow-up. There was no warning, what-so-ever. My cousin and a passenger were both killed. The rear tires were cooper discoverer h/t tires. A tire expert later determined that this tire had both a manufacturing and design defect. The family attempted to mitigated this tragic event by contacting cooper tire & rubber company directly. Cooper tire company offered no defense, nothing. We are now in litigation. I personally asked coopers' attorneys about the origin of their tires rubber. I was told, "cooper gets their rubber from various sources." we request the NHTSA investigate cooper tire and rubber company's manufacturing process. The public needs to know if this company uses unsafe rubber made in china in the manufacturer of its h/t discoverer tire. …
On feb 12 2000, something happened to the front (driver side) tire - it buckled off the rim. The accident happened on a curve at the top of a hill. Because of the curve the travel speed was around 20 to 25 miles an hour. The tire came off the rim, my son could not control the truck, the truck hit an embankment, and the truck rolled over. We contacted our insurance company (nationwide), they took the truck to a recovery /loss center. We asked if some one would investigate why the tire would have come off the rim and they said tires blow out all the time. We were happy no one was hurt and accepted the answer. But every day I hear more about the recall on the Firestone tires and I am concerned there are other problems, besides the tread separation. I do not believe the tire had tread separation. But I also believe we were very lucky the accident happened at a slow speed. …
My wife and I were driving s/b in the carpool lane on the 605 freeway at 65/70 MPH when we heard a funny noise coming from the right rear tire. Thinking we had a flat, we started to move over to the right and exit the freeway. At around lane 3 I completely lost control of the vehicle. It fish-tailed twice and then flipped over and slid into the iceplant along the side of the freeway. The truck then righted itself and we ended up facing n/b on the shoulder. We could have easily been killed!!! My wife sustained some bumps and bruises but is otherwise OK. I walked away without a scratch. On inspecting the tire (which we now have in our possesion) we noticed that the sidewall had completely separated from the rest of the tire!! My wife and I are convinced that these Firestone wilderness ht tires are unsafe!!! We have photos of the truck and we saved the tire. …
I was driving on I-95 at approximately 80 miles an hour when I heard a 'popping' sound as if my tire was flat. The noise came from the driver side front. My truck (a 98 Ford Ranger) was pulled off the road and into the grass on the shoulder of the road. As soon as I heard the noise, I attempted to slow down by applying the brake and continued to do so as I moved onto the grass. Unfortunately whether the grass was to wet, or for whatever reason, my truck did not slow down and I ran into a tree- renderring my truck undriveable. I later found out that the tread of my Firestone p225 70r15 wilderness tires had peeled. There was still air filling the tire, but the tread had peeled off.
While travelling on the I-5 in fresno at approximently 70 MPH I heard a loud pop/burst and the vehicle rearend slid to the left into the concrete center divider I momentarily lost control and the entire left side of my truck scraped on the center divider, after gaining control I moved to the right shoulder. I saw sparks coming from the right rear section of my car while moving to the shoulder. I got out and saw that my right rear tire had "exploded" and all that was left was the beading, melted to the rim, and the tread wrapped around my right rear axel. I changed the tire and proceeded home. No one was injured.( dot number: )
On 08-13-99 I was hit by another vehicle twice while on rte 24 in randolph, ma - the front driver's tire broke down and the truck went out of control ending up off of the road - this tire needed to be replaced at the dealer and it took several weeks for the dealer to locate an exact match as I was informed that Firestone was not production of this tire at the time. Although the start of the trouble was in fact the negligence of the other driver - the fact that the tire broke down rendered my ability to regain control of the vehicle impossible.( dot number: 02 7474 tire size: p235/70r16 )
The vehicle went off the right side of the road to avoid an oncoming vehicle in my lane. I corrected my vehicle to come back onto the roadway and when I turned back to the right, the right fron tire blew and the weight shiften from the weak springs in the rear, rolling my vehicle five times. The vehicle speed control was on at the time of the accident. Although the tires were original equipment, they were oversized (16 inch, off-road package) and unsafe for this vehicle. The 16 inch tires are no longer being put onto rangers. (dot number: vd tiresize: p235/70r16)
Dt*: the contact stated the original left rear wheel is cracked and rusting along the inner portion by the valve stem of the rim. The vehicle was seen by an independent repair shop. The repair shop personnel determined the rim fractured due to rusting of the steel material of the wheel. This problem only existed on the left rear wheel rim. Although the vehicle was not exposed to harsh weather or other elements, the rusting rim allows air to escape from the attached tire.
Wheel & Tire complaints in other Ranger years
Frequently asked questions
How common are wheel & tire problems on the 1998 Ford Ranger?
NHTSA has 146 complaints about the wheels & tires of the 1998 Ford Ranger, 25% of the model year's 576 complaints. The component named most often is tread/belt (47 mentions).
Is there a recall for 1998 Ford Ranger wheel & tire problems?
No. NHTSA lists no wheels & tires recall for the 1998 Ford Ranger, though it has 5 recalls for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 1998 Ford Ranger wheel & tire problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 126,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 14 crashes, 2 fires and 11 injuries and 2 deaths to wheels & tires problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.